Aug 19, 2015

Hands-On Experience Offered at Interactive Hydroponics Seminar By Jasmina Dolce

Are you one of the many greenhouse growers out there considering expanding into hydroponic production? It’s a great opportunity to add to your current offerings and maintain year-round business.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can capitalize on this trending market, American Hydroponics is hosting a two-day interactive crash course, Intro to Hydroponic Crop Production, on Sept. 20-22, in New Jersey.

Attendees will learn about the history of hydroponics and where it is going in North America, what exactly is controlled environment agriculture, pest and disease control methods, and how to market produce. There will also be a walk-through of a local hydroponic greenhouse. Featured speakers include : Michael Christian and Joe Swartz of American Hydroponics, Lorraine Gibbons of Garden State Urban Farms, James Livengood of Radicle Farm Co. and Sarah Swartz of Swartz Family Farms.

The fee to attend this educational seminar is $995, with space limited to only 20 participants. You can register by calling 888.978.0963 or online at www.amhydro.com.

– Jasmina

Sustainable Local Foods Revives Indy Warehouse with Hydroponics Farm

Based in Toledo, Ohio, Sustainable Local Foods (SLF) plans to turn a 61,000-square-foot warehouse on the east side of Indianapolis into an urban farm using a tiered, organic hydroponic growing system. The farm will grow produce year-round to be sold in Indiana grocery stores. The building is located in a federally designated “Promise Zone,” which means the area was singled out by the Obama administration as a prime place for development. The poverty rate is about 47 percent, and about 24 percent of the community is unemployed. This is SLF’s third site but the first in Indiana. The company was founded in 2012 as a way to provide job opportunities and grow healthy, high-yield food.

Urban Organics Expands with Addition of Second Location

The aquaponics business Urban Organics announced it has officially purchased property at the Schmidt Brewery complex in St. Paul, Minnesota, which it will turn into a fish and produce farm. The addition of this new location will allow Urban Organics substantial room for growth. The new site, an 80,000-square-foot building, dwarfs the original 9,000-square-foot location at Hamm’s Brewery, also in St. Paul, which will continue to operate.

Portland Aquaponics Venture Launches Salad Subscription

Möbius Microfarms, a producer of modular aquaponics systems has added a “community supported agriculture” (or CSA style) program for commercially grown microgreens. The company has placed cabinet-sized aquaponics systems into several homes and restaurants. With the newly developed commercial-scale system, Möbius will begin selling microgreens directy to Portland residents. Available in a subscription model, shares include young basil, arugula and spicy salad mix. “Launching the microgreen subscriptions is an exciting step for us,” said Anne Phillip, Möbius founder. “I have a vision of fresh food being grown in buildings around the city so people can have access to food grown only feet away from them.